Consumers resist curbs on vitamin sales

HEALTH consumer organisations and food supplement manufacturers are urging the European Commission not to limit the range of vitamin and mineral supplements available to ordinary shoppers by classifying them as medicines.

They fear that a Commission discussion paper on the regulation and harmonisation of the food supplement market could lead to stricter controls on their sale across Europe.

The rise in demand for vitamins and minerals is described as "spectacular" in the Commission's document, but the rules governing the way they are sold vary across the 15 EU member states.

Some countries, including France and Germany, require supplements with high levels of nutrients to be sold only on prescription. Others - including the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland - allow such products to be sold freely over the counter in health food shops.

Moves by the Commission to tackle barriers to the trade in vitamins and minerals in 1992 found that a majority of member states favoured the French and German models, but it was agreed to postpone legislative action and apply the principle of mutual recognition instead.

The Commission's discussion paper does not come down for or against tougher rules, and acknowledges that no restrictions would allow shoppers greater choice.

But health consumer organisations fear that officials will come under pressure from some EU governments and the pharmaceutical lobby to introduce stricter controls in any proposal they are likely to draft.

Critics of the French and German regulations, which require supplements containing levels of nutrients above the Recommended Daily Amount (RDA) to be sold in pharmacies, argue that the RDA for many supplements does not represent the amount that can be safely consumed, which can be much higher.

Sue Croft, director of Consumers for Health Choice, said that some vitamins and minerals needed to be taken in higher doses to have any effect.

She cited the example of B6 pyridoxine, which has an RDA of 2 milligrams per day, but is believed to be helpful for menstruating women when taken in doses of up to 200 milligrams per day.

"We want to make sure that all people across Europe continue to have access to vitamins and minerals and other supplements which are safe and effective for their needs," said Croft.

She added that it was both pointless and unnecessarily expensive to make people visit their doctors to get prescriptions for supplements.

Simon Pettman, of the European Federation of Health Product Manufacturers' Associations, welcomed the Commission's paper, but added: "A key aim must be to ensure that well-established, safe products can be marketed freely throughout the EU as foods."